"We thought it was an important issue to our community. Not just an environmental issue, but one that affected our health, one that affected our economic vitality," said Vojcsik, who is the executive director of the United Way.

So far, the response has been slow. In fact, only 29 responses have come back, but Vojcsik says he's not surprised by what he's seen so far.

• 82 percent of the respondents claim lost wages from the toxic water.

• 90 percent say the local economy is dependent on out-of-town visitors.

• 96 percent say the quality of the water was very important or important to them.

Meskauskas said although the money he lost over the summer can't be recovered, he's just looking forward to a cleaner, healthier waterway.